How to Play

South Asia's flagship 3-card poker-family gambling game with blind/seen betting, sideshows, and classic rankings (Trail, Pure Sequence, Sequence, Color, Pair, High Card). A Diwali tradition for millions.

Teen Patti (Hindi for 'three cards', also known as Flush, Flash, or Indian Poker) is South Asia's best-known gambling card game, played with a standard 52-card deck and heavy betting. Each player antes a 'boot' to form the pot, receives 3 cards face down, and then bets in rotation; players may play 'blind' without looking at their cards (betting half the stake) or 'seen' (betting twice what blind players bet). Play continues until only two players remain, at which point either may call a 'show' to compare hands for the pot. Hand rankings run, from best to worst: Trail (three of a kind), Pure Sequence (straight flush, A-2-3 highest), Sequence (straight), Color (flush), Pair, and High Card. Teen Patti is the unofficial card game of Diwali and has spawned dozens of regional variants (Muflis, AK47, Best-of-Four, Joker Hunt) as well as a massive online following, with the mobile Teen Patti Gold app surpassing 100 million downloads.

Players

Three to ten players; four to six is the social sweet spot. Each player plays for themselves (no partnerships). Turns rotate clockwise. A single hand can last from 30 seconds to several minutes depending on how many rounds of betting occur; a full session usually lasts an hour or two.

Card Deck

• One standard 52-card deck, no jokers in the classic form.
• Card rank for hand comparison: A (high) > K > Q > J > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2. A-2-3 is the SPECIAL LOWEST straight (and beats K-high cards in a straight comparison, but is itself the TOP pure sequence).
• Suits are equal; there is no suit precedence in break-ties.
• Special rankings apply in variants (AK47 makes A/K/4/7 wild; Joker Hunt randomly designates a wild rank).

Objective

Win the pot. You can do this either by having the highest-ranked 3-card hand at a showdown, or by betting hard enough that all other players fold. Teen Patti is as much a bluffing game as a hand-ranking game; strong betting on mediocre cards often wins more pots than strong cards played timidly.

Setup and Deal

1. Agree a boot amount (the ante each player contributes before the deal) and a maximum-raise rule (pot-limit, fixed-limit, or no-limit).
2. Every player places their boot into the pot.
3. The dealer shuffles and the player to the dealer's right cuts.
4. The dealer deals 3 cards face down to each player, one at a time clockwise, starting with the player on the dealer's left.
5. The minimum opening stake is set equal to the boot. Betting begins with the player to the dealer's left.

Blind and Seen Play

• Blind players: Do NOT look at their 3 cards during the betting rounds. A blind bet must be at least the current stake and at most twice the current stake. Blind play continues until the player chooses to look ('go seen') or until only two players remain for a show.
• Seen players: HAVE looked at their cards. A seen player's minimum bet is TWICE the current stake; the maximum is four times the current stake. Once you have gone seen you cannot return to blind.
• Turning seen: On your turn you may look at your cards before betting; from that turn onwards you are seen.
• Stake mechanic: The 'current stake' is the amount the last blind player added per turn. Seen players match/raise at double the stake (because each chip a seen player bets corresponds to half a chip in blind terms).
• Pack (fold): On your turn you may fold (pack) instead of betting. You lose any chips already in the pot. Blind players who fold do not reveal their cards.

Turn Structure

1. Step 1 (act in turn): Starting left of the dealer and proceeding clockwise, each remaining player takes one action: bet chips (matching or raising the current stake within the blind/seen rules), go seen (look at your cards and now bet as a seen player), pack/fold, or request a show/sideshow if eligible.
2. Step 2 (continue betting): Betting continues around the table as long as multiple players remain active. Each turn adds to the pot based on the current stake and the player's blind/seen status.
3. Step 3 (reduce to two): Play continues until only two players remain.
4. Step 4 (show): Once only two players remain, either may call a show to compare hands.

Show and Sideshow

• Show (only between the last two players): Pay the 'show cost' into the pot (seen vs seen: current stake; blind vs seen: blind pays the stake; blind vs blind: either may request at blind cost). Both hands are revealed and the higher hand wins the pot.
• Sideshow (compromise): A SEEN player on their turn may request a sideshow with the previous player (if that player is also seen). Pay the current stake into the pot; the two compare hands PRIVATELY. The player with the weaker hand folds; the stronger hand continues in play.
• Sideshow refusal: The previous player may refuse the sideshow; if refused, the current player must continue betting.
• Blind players cannot sideshow: A blind player must go seen before they can sideshow.
• Show vs sideshow: A show ends the hand; a sideshow continues it with one fewer player.

Hand Rankings (high to low)

• Trail / Trio (three of a kind): Three cards of the same rank. Three Aces is the highest Trail; three 2s is the lowest.A♠A♥A♦
• Pure Sequence (straight flush): Three consecutive cards of the same suit. Ranking within: A-2-3 highest (special rule), then A-K-Q, K-Q-J, Q-J-10, and so on down to 4-3-2 lowest.A♠K♠Q♠
• Sequence (straight): Three consecutive cards of mixed suits. Same ordering as pure sequence: A-2-3 highest, then A-K-Q, down to 4-3-2 lowest.
• Color (flush): Three cards of the same suit, not in sequence. Ranked by highest card, then next, then lowest.
• Pair: Two cards of the same rank plus one unmatched card. Ranked by pair rank first, then unmatched 'kicker'.
• High Card: None of the above. Ranked by highest card, then next, then lowest.

Winning

The player revealed to hold the higher-ranked hand at the show wins the entire pot. In a sideshow, the weaker hand is forced out and the stronger continues for the pot. In folded-out scenarios, the last remaining player wins the pot without a show. The hand ends; re-ante and deal the next.

Common Variations

• Muflis (lowball): Hand rankings are REVERSED; the worst hand wins. A-2-3 becomes the worst Pure Sequence (poorest) and 4-3-2 becomes the best.
• AK47: All Aces, Kings, 4s, and 7s are wild. A hand with even two wild cards nearly guarantees a Trail or better.
• Best of Four: Each player is dealt 4 cards and chooses any 3 for their hand. Dramatically raises hand quality and encourages bigger pots.
• Best of Five / High-Wild: Like Best of Four but with 5 cards; the middle-ranked card may be declared the wild joker.
• Joker Hunt: One card rank is randomly chosen (by cutting the deck) as wild for the round.
• Cobra / 999 / In-Out: Single-card Teen Patti variants in which each player is dealt a single face-down card; the lowest exposed card loses or the closest to 9 wins, depending on house rules.

Tips and Strategy

• Play blind for the first few turns if you can afford it. The half-stake bets let you stay in cheaply while watching opponents' betting patterns.
• Never sideshow with a weak hand; you will be forced out and lose your accumulated chips. Sideshow only with a confident pair or better.
• Fold early on weak high-card hands. Teen Patti's small 3-card hand makes high-card wins rare, and bleeding chips against confident bettors is a common losing pattern.
• The A-2-3 straight is the highest sequence, not the lowest. Players who treat it as weak often lose to it at a show.
• Read betting behaviour: a player who raises early with blind play is often bluffing; a seen player who only calls is often waiting for a show on a strong hand.
• Bankroll management is crucial. Set a loss ceiling before you sit down and walk away when you hit it.

Glossary

• Boot: The fixed ante each player contributes before the deal; establishes the initial pot.
• Blind: Playing without looking at your cards; bet at half the seen stake.
• Seen / Chaal: Playing after looking at your cards; bet at double the blind stake.
• Pack: Fold; you lose your already-committed chips and exit the hand.
• Show: Compare hands at the end of a head-up contest; pays the show cost first.
• Sideshow / Compromise: Private hand comparison between a seen player and the previous seen player; weaker hand folds.
• Trail / Trio: Three of a kind; the highest hand in classic Teen Patti.
• Pure Sequence: Straight flush. A-2-3 is the highest.
• Muflis: Lowball Teen Patti where the worst hand wins.